Nightmare Fate
by ikarishipper900
Summary: A horrid nightmare has been showing up in Dawn's dreams for four days  about the utter destruction of the Sinnoh Region, and quite possibly the world. Full summary inside, Ikarishipping, Penguinshipping, Damien X OC
1. Prologue

**I know... I _should_ be working on Dream Academy, or the talk show. But I want Paul and Dawn on a journey!!!**

**Full Summary: (continued) When she finds four others - two of her childhood friends, an admirer, and someone she hasn't seen for almost five years - have been having the same vision haunting them, she realizes it'll come true if the five of them don't do something. But are feelings to be kindled and rekindled on their journey to save the region they call home? Ships mentioned in outside summary.**

_

* * *

The figure glanced around. _Where am I? _the person wondered. _And why?

_An unexpectedly soothing voice in such a strange place rang out, clear as day. _Watch. Your questions will be answered.

_The person simply nodded. None could argue with a voice so serene. The human looked around and suddenly realized where this was. Spear Pillar. Great things happened here. Not always good, but always momentous, and always powerful._

_The being became aware of four others nearby. These murky beings felt familiar… but from where? All attention was quickly diverted, however, from each other to the top of the spears._

_A slash in the sky. How was that even possible? Yet there it was, like a scientist's worst nightmare. The impossible had happened. _A tear in the dimensions_, one of the figures thought. Or perhaps all of them. There was no doubt in the person the thought occurred in. The mystery of _why_ rang again. Not what, but that why word again._

_Something was crawling – no, charging – through the hole. They wondered briefly if that was the causer the rip. Wait, was there another something? The second something slammed into the first, and both tumbled out. Upon entering the dimension of the humans, the things, whatever they were, became quite large. As they cried out at their strange new environment, the humans realized they must be Pokémon. The legends of Sinnoh. The serene voice almost laughed. Again, that certainty, and the why._

_One of the inter-dimensional beings, pained at the sunlight, reared its newly huge head. A pillar smashed, and what broke off rolled down the mountain. At least three cities were smashed within seconds. The figures gasped in horror as one._

_The other thing looked at the figures. Its thoughts might have been scribbled on its face: _What are those? _This time, it was what over why. Interesting. The humans and things had no time left for interesting, however. In fact, the humans felt quite certain that they, the Sinnoh Region, and perhaps the world, thanks to these strange beings, had no time left at all.

* * *

_**So? Whatcha think? It's supposed to be creepy and vague. Success? Read on...**


	2. Memories on the Wall

**wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee! i have a drawing of dawn too! http://evillatias900. there's the link go see! (don't ask abt the username... i was random...)**

**Dawn: Do i have to do the disclaimer?**

**Me: No, Lucas does.**

**Lucas: What the heck? Why me? I'M NOT EVEN IN THIS STORY!!!!!!!!**

**Me: You don't know that! And everyone else is being haunted with a scary nightmare.**

**Lucas: Fine, whatever. The loser known as pokefreak900 doesn't own Pokemon.**

**Me: KEEP YOUR EDITORIALS TO YOURSELF!!!!!!!**

* * *

Dawn awoke that morning in a sweat. It obviously wasn't temperature-related, as it was the middle of autumn. No, it was that creepy dream again. It was the fourth night in a row the uncertainty had haunted the sixteen-year-old.

She sighed as she opened the window, pulling the curtains apart. The sunlight streamed through her room like it always did, causing her five Ribbon Cups to glimmer. Dawn smiled at the sight. She'd won her first cup when she defeated her rival Zoey. After Zoey left for the Thrylo Region, and Kenny took up battling, Dawn won the next four with no difficulty at all. She was taking a break this year, though, because she was tired of winning without a challenge. What was the point of winning as many Cups as her mom if the competition wasn't as good?

So she was spending this year relaxing and having fun with her friends. It was a refreshing change. The only real problem, as a matter of fact, was that she kept getting mobbed by fans. And yeah, it's kind of flattering the first few times, but it gets quickly annoying to have the cashier at the mall hugging your receipt because it has your "autograph" on it.

A few minutes later, Dawn descended down the stairs. She didn't wear the same outfit she'd worn when she was a preteen, no sir. She was repulsed at herself now for wearing a skirt so dangerously short. She now wore a blue skirt, cut around her mid-thigh, with black and blue striped stockings that rose to just above her knees. Her black shirt was now layered with a blue tank top that matched the color of her skirt. Since it was chilly out, she'd worn the long-sleeved variety. She was also wearing a plain white hat, perched sideways on her head. Overall, another cute, but more mature outfit.

Dawn stepped into the kitchen and popped some waffles into the toaster oven. She sighed as she waited for them to cook, looking around at the pictures on the wall. The pictures, more than anything else, were her favorite things in this lonely house. Her mom had died in a horrible accident almost five years ago, so Dawn lived alone now. Even the Glameow didn't stay. The people in the picture were always happy to keep her company, though.

Dawn looked at her favorite picture, the group picture from when she as a little older than 11 – before Ash went to Orre, before Zoey left. Everyone was there – Ash, Brock, Zoey, Kenny, herself, Paul, Damien **[A/N: The blonde rival in the video games – this is apparently his official name** – even some of Ash's friends who had become some of Dawn's best friends over the years, Misty and May. Dawn gave a small smile at the memory of her parting with Ash…

FLASHBACK

_"Dawn?" I looked up at Ash, wondering why he sounded sad._

_"What's up?" I asked flippantly. I realized what was probably coming._

_"Um… I-I'm going to the Orre Region soon. I know Brock told you that, but… I wanted to know if you wanted to come with me."_

_I was prepared for this moment more than I realized. "Ash, have you asked Misty yet?"_

_"What?! I-I mean, no, why?"_

_"Go ask her, Ash. I know she's the one you really want. Besides, I can't. I have stuff to take care of here."_

_Ash looked at me for a moment. "…I'm really sorry about everything." I knew he was referring to the awkwardness he'd been causing lately by flirting with me. "Thanks for understanding. Good luck with that _stuff_." He waved and walked away. I knew I wouldn't see him again for a long, long time._

END FLASHBACK

Dawn's waffles were finally done. She poured syrup on them and ate slowly in silence. Her thoughts transitioned to Paul. He was the first guy she'd truly loved, her first boyfriend, and currently, her ex. She and Paul had been very serious about each other, and very happy to finally be together. But the day of her mother's accident, before she'd gotten to tell Paul, he started abruptly ignoring her. He never returned her calls, ignored her emails, and refused to see her. Eventually, she'd grown to accept it and stopped trying, as much as it hurt. She'd never liked anyone as much since, and she doubted she ever would. She would never trust anyone as much again.

Having finished her waffles, Dawn grabbed her purse. Time to stop living in the past, and time to hit the mall.

* * *

**wow. i haven't written very many chapters with so little dialogue...**

**about the ash thing, he was flirting with Dawn to get misty jealous. yah... please read and review!!!!!!!!!!**


	3. My Number One Fan

**Me: Ah! I'm sorry, everyone!**

**Kayli: I haven't even come into the story just yet, and you put it on hold for FIVE MONTHS?!?!**

**Me: I'm sorry!**

**Dawn: Kayli, she's been busy with the talk show. Simmer down.**

**Kayli: -sudden shift in attitude- Sure, Dawn! Anything for you!**

**Paul: -sweat drop-**

**Me: -also sweat drop- Kayli, how's about you do the disclaimer, since the chapter title's referring to you?**

**Kayli: Ee! What an honor!**

**Kenny: Not really.**

**Me: -duct tapes Kenny's mouth shut-**

**Kayli: pokefreak900 -**

**Me: Wait, I'm changing it to ikarishipper900.**

**Damien: She says it's more accurate!**

**Dawn: She's right there, Damien.**

**Kayli: Okay then... pokefreak/ikarishipper900 doesn't own Pokemon!**

**Paul: Or else she'd put Dawn and I together already.**

**Kenny: Hey, he talked!**

**Me: Not that quick, I wouldn't. Anyway, on with the story!**

* * *

Twinleaf Town had grown a lot in the past few years. Everyone wanted to live in the newly-famous town of the Keystone Legacy. It wasn't everyday, after all, that a mother and daughter had become legendary Coordinators. The plus side was that now Twinleaf's mall was big enough to rival Veilstone's. The problem was that much of the population was the fandom.

As Dawn walked through the mall, one such fan noticed Dawn, waved good-bye to her friends, and almost skipped over to her. She was adorable in a little-puppy type way, with short, light brown hair and the biggest green eyes Dawn had ever seen on a fourteen year old. Today, she was wearing a brown hoodie with long white sleeves under, blue jeans, and black, heeled leather boots. She was also wearing black gloves with white rings at the base of each digit on her hand. "Hi, Dawn!" she chirped, literally.

"Hi," Dawn replied, trying to be polite while ending the conversation.

"Do you remember me, Dawn?" Dawn rolled her eyes at the question. _You come up to me every single day I hit the mall, tell me your name, then talk about how cool some contest I did years ago was. Of course I know who you are, pest!_

"Yeah," was all Dawn said, however. She started walking a little faster. The fan picked up the pace.

"Really? Do you remember my name?" Dawn turned into the boutique store, ignoring the looks.

"You're Kayli Niaka," Dawn spat, giving up on politeness. "You follow me around every time I come to the mall. You talk all the time about how much you admire my skills, and that you're my number one fan. And now I'm sure you're going to talk about some contest from when I was 13 or something." This Kayli was very annoying too, but Dawn didn't add that. Her tone made it plain enough. Her next guess was that Kayli would either leave in a huff, or try to keep the tears in until she was back in the main area.

Kayli smiled, making Dawn think she would do the latter. "So you do know me!" The coordinator turned, surprised at the excitement in her fan's voice. "I guess you already have the impression of how much I admire you. So I guess today I'll talk about this weird dream I've been having!"

"What, was it weird because I wasn't in it?" Dawn snapped, turning to rudeness.

"No, no, that's not why. It was weird on so many levels." Dawn almost wanted to admire this girl for her persistence. She'd never met anyone who stuck around after that.

"Well, do tell, then." If she wanted to hang around THAT bad, it wouldn't hurt her to listen."

"Okay! I was on Spear Pillar, which is weird because I've never been there. At first I was asking what was going on, but this really… um… calm voice told me to wait and see."

Dawn frowned at the headband she'd been looking at. This sounded too familiar…

"And then I realized there were four other people near me. I couldn't see much of them, but I could feel that they were friends. But then we became aware of – "

"A cut in the sky?" Kayli looked at Dawn in surprise. Dawn felt quite shocked herself. There was a small silence after that.

"How did you know that?" Kayli questioned, very confused. "I haven't told ANYONE about this." Dawn's phone began to vibrate. She glanced at the caller ID and saw it was Damien.

"Hang on, I've got to take this." Dawn flipped the phone open. "'Ello?"

"Hey, Dawn!" an excited voice on the other end said. Damien, of course. "Where are you right now?"

"The mall, why?" Kayli began rifting through chokers.

"Well, Kenny and I are nearby and wanted to talk to you about something. You know how some people if you dream something more than three times, it'll come true?"

Dawn almost gasped. She knew he was going to say. She didn't know how, but she had this feeling. "Damien, do you want to meet up in the Food Court to talk about this? I have to cut back on my minutes." She glanced at Kayli a second before adding, "And I'll be bringing a friend." Kayli glanced up in surprise.

"Now? Okay! See ya there!" The line went dead. Kayli didn't waste a second.

"How did you know?" Dawn almost sighed. She set the headband back down and started out. Kayli quickly followed.

"Kayli, listen. Do want to hang out in the Food Court with some friends?"

"Really? With your friends? Yay! Of course!"

"I thought as much. Be yourself, though."

"Huh?" Kayli blinked.

"Instead of being over-bubbly, be the level you are around your friends. I hate fakers."

Kayli was quiet all the way to the Food Court. _Apparently she didn't realize she wasn't being herself. Oh well._

"Hey, DD!" Dawn turned to see Kenny waving and Damien chomping on a sub. She shook her head and darted over. Kayli followed.

"How many times do I have to ask you not to call me that?" Dawn fumed. Kenny grinned mischievously.

"What's DD stand for?" Kayli asked. Damien swallowed his bite of the long sandwich.

"Either Dense Dawn, Dumb Dawn, or Ditz Dawn," he replied quickly. "Depends on Kenny's mood. Hi, Dawn."

"Hi, Damien," Dawn greeted while glaring at her other childhood friend.

"I'm Kayli, by the way," Kayli introduced herself.

"Hi, Kayli!" Damien said brightly. "I'm Damien, and that's Kenny, in case you didn't pick that up."

"What's in that sandwich that's got you so hyped, Damien?" Dawn asked, laughing. She wanted to keep normal conversation going as long as possible before touching upon the freakiness.

* * *

Meanwhile, another person was biking into town. Stupid new flight regulations. Some worrywart had created so many laws about flying on bird Pokémon it was quicker to just go by bike.

The person checked the cell phone. It was extremely lucky Dawn chose to ignore her ability to be tracked. And that she chose to stay in Twinleaf. Dawn had to be reached as soon as possible. And warned.

The human panted, looking into the sky. "Hang on, Dawn. I'm coming."

* * *

**Kenny: What's with that last line?**

**Me: I dunno. I just wanted him to say it!**

**Kayli: Him? Who is it?!**

**Me: Isn't it obvious from the summary?**

**Damien: Apparently not to her.**

**Me: Hey, where'd Paul go?**

**Dawn: He went to train his Pokemon. He got bored.**

**Me: Argh, that JERK!**

**Kayli: Please review while she goes to kill Paul!**

**Kenny: Yay, she's gonna kill Paul!**


	4. The Same

**Me: I figured, update one, might as well update two.**

**Dawn: About time! You put ALL of your stories on an old, dusty shelf?**

**Me: -winces- Not... quite?**

**Kayli: I'm sad. This is the only thing I exist in.**

**Me: Um...**

**Paul: -sighs-**

**Kenny: -glares-**

**Me: Well, let's just get on with it. Kayli, can you do the disclaimer?**

**Kayli: I don't feel like arguing. ikarishipper900 doesn't own Pokemon, just me.**

* * *

"Anyways, Dawn," Damien said, having finished his sub, "you wanna know _why_ I called?"

"Oh, sure," Dawn replied with a grin. She was having a lot of fun with her two childhood friends. Even with her fan, when she was less fan-ish.

"So, I was telling Kenny about this weird dream I'd been having since four nights ago."

"What was the dream?" Kayli asked, nibbling on a chip.

"Um… I was on Spear Pillar, and weird stuff happened."

"Did the weird stuff start with a hole in the dimensions, then have two Pokémon fall out of it?" Dawn asked, praying he'd say no.

Damien gagged on his soda. "How did you know that?"

"My dream like that started four nights ago too…" Kayli commented thoughtfully.

"So did mine!" Kenny exclaimed in surprise.

"Okay, _this_," Dawn said, "is _bad_."

"Have you been having dreams like that too, DD?"

"Stop calling me DD! And unfortunately, yes." Dawn pulled out a small notebook.

"So… does that mean that the dream will happen?" Damien asked, orange eyes round and fearful. Dawn started drawing diagrams in her notebook.

"I think it means it'll happen if we don't _do_ something," Kenny answered.

"Okay," Dawn said finally, putting her pencil down. "There were thirteen pillars in the dream, right?"

"Yeah," Damien replied instantly. "The second day after I had the dream, I thought that was weird because I thought there were more than that."

"There are," Kenny told them. "Dawn and I went there at one point."

"So did Ash and Brock, but never mind." Dawn glanced at the diagram. "I think that might be thirteen days."

"Thirteen days until those things get here?" Kayli asked in surprise. Dawn smiled sadly.

"Not anymore. Today's the fourth day. Today's also a Wednesday, so… it should happen Friday of next week. That's nine days."

Kenny swore. "How long does it take to get to Mount Coronet by foot?"

Dawn looked at her map. "By bike, it's about three days, and then factor in an extra day to get to Spear Pillar. Without bikes, six days, and the extra. The time's not the problem as much."

Damien blinked. "There's a bigger problem?"

"Well, there were five people in the dream, right?" Dawn stated. "I think each is as necessary as the other."

"So, if there's only four of us here…" Kayli started, picking up on the problem.

"…then who's the fifth, and how do we find them?" Dawn's question hung in the air. If everything they'd just said was in fact accurate, then they didn't have much time at all. They hadn't noticed someone else there who'd overheard everything.

"You won't have to search that far." Everyone turned in surprise. Dawn had to fight a gasp back.

"Paul?" she asked in disbelief. She couldn't believe, after all these years, he would come her because of this. He'd gotten taller, and his purple brown hair was longer. He was wearing black, baggy jeans with a dark blue vest and a long-sleeved black shirt. His eyes seemed more shadowed than usual, as if he was being haunted by something fearsome. But that aura that had drawn Dawn in before… he still had it, Dawn thought, frowning. She pushed those thoughts away. "How…?"

Paul held up his cell phone. "You never blocked me." Dawn had a program in her phone that allowed people to know her location at all times (or at least her cell phone location). She'd blocked a lot of people, but Paul was not one of them. It went from hopefulness to forgetfulness.

"Guess that's a good thing now, huh?" Dawn remarked, smiling. Kayli looked somewhat confused.

"Wait, Paul?" she asked. "As in, Paul Shadowling? The Sinnoh League Champion? _That_ Paul?"

"Also a well-renowned jerk, yeah," Kenny answered, narrowing his eyes. Dawn glanced down. Kenny's rivalry with Paul was well noted publicly – Paul kept him from the top of the League. And Kayli probably knew enough about Dawn's relationships, past and present, to understand Kenny's personal dislike of Paul.

"It's a good thing it's an off year, huh?" Damien said, bravely trying to keep cheer in the air. He had no League-related rivalry with Paul (he always lost to Kenny anyway), and he tried not to hold the past against people as a general policy. Dawn had asked both of them to just forget about it in any case, so he wasn't doing her a disservice.

"I think we all could have managed a break for this," Paul answered, pulling up a chair between Dawn and Kenny. Unintentionally, but it wasn't helping anything. Dawn determinedly didn't look up from her notebook for a moment, but she had to ask him a question.

"How did you know to come to us?" she asked, looking up at him awkwardly. No person had been specified in her dream.

Paul looked her dead in the eye, which was usually when he was going to be frankly honest or stare her down until she changed her mind about asking. The old pattern, Dawn remembered. "I saw you," he answered. "You were one of the people there."

Dawn blinked, surprised. "I didn't see anyone…"

"Neither did I," Kenny added, glaring poisonous thoughts at Paul. Paul pretended not to notice.

"I don't think anyone did except Paul," Damien said, drumming his fingers.

"Maybe it was because he wouldn't have come to us any other way?" Kayli suggested.

"It doesn't really matter," Dawn said, sighing. "The point is we're all here."

"Who are you again?" Paul asked, looking at Kayli pointedly.

"Kayli Niaka," she answered sharply. "Didn't you hear that _before_?"

"Guys, seriously!" Dawn said, sensing a fight in the making. "So, do we all have bikes?"

Paul nodded, reflecting regretfully anywhere without Pokémon, he could have driven. But no, instead twenty was the responsible age (he mentally rolled his eyes). Kayli also nodded.

"Okay, so we can leave today, likely." Dawn bit her lip. "Kayli, do you have Pokémon?"

"Uh-huh!" Kayli said excitedly. "I have five of them."

"Good!" Damien said, grinning. Still trying to break Kenny and Paul's stubborn tension. "Then we just need to pack real quick."

"Quick's your middle name," Dawn teased. Damien shrugged, still grinning.

"How were we planning to get to Spear Pillar?" Paul asked. Dawn looked at her map.

"Well, you have to go to Sangdem, to Jubilife, head east to Oreburgh, Mount Coronet's right there. Kenny and I know how to get to Spear Pillar from there."

"That won't work…" Dawn glanced up in surprise at him. "The road from Jubilife to Oreburgh's closed for a couple of weeks," he explained, pointing at the road as he did. Dawn nodded a bit, trying to focus.

Kenny glared at Paul some more, like it was his fault, while Dawn tried to ignore them both. "Paul, the roads from Jubilife to Eterna are still open, right?" Dawn asked, interrupting their glaring contest.

"Yeah," Paul answered. "Bicycling Road is too."

"We'll go that way, then. That should take seven days."

"Let's get going, then!" Damien exclaimed, hopping up. "Let's meet at the north entrance of Twinleaf!" He darted out. Dawn couldn't blame him – the tension was almost tangible at this point.

She closed her notebook. "Meet you all there." She started to walk out. She assumed the others would follow suit. In the mean time, she tried to plan, plotting out the tiniest details, anything to keep her mind away from him, and when they were.

Kenny got up, "accidentally" kicking Paul as he left in Dawn's direction. Paul got up and left the opposite way. He was also trying to stay distracted, in the same way as her.


	5. On the move, mostly

**Update one, get a sick day, and you have absolutely zero excuse to not update another, right? And I like this story. :)**

**Dawn: I don't! I don't want to be Paul's ex-girlfriend!**

**Paul: I'm not particularly fond about the idea of ex-boyfriend either, to be honest.**

**Me: You guys would rather be current boyfriend and girlfriend?**

**Kenny: No! They meant they didn't want to be together at all, right?!**

**Dawn: Uh...**

**Paul: ...**

**Kenny: RIGHT?!?!?!**

**Damien: Haha, Kenny loses!**

**Kayli: ikarishipper900 doesn't own Pokemon!**

**Me: -sobs-**

* * *

"Anything else you guys can think of?" Dawn asked her companions. Her loyal five Pokémon, who had won her so many Contests, were now helping her prepare for her latest and most dangerous journey.

"Nope!" Chatot answered, responding for them all. She dropped her Poke Ball into Dawn's expecting hand. Dawn looked at it for a minute, wondering.

"_Lop lop lopun_," her Lopunny scolded her, knowing what she was thinking. _Don't think about it. We're coming._ The other four sounded their agreement. Dawn smiled.

"Thanks, guys… return." The five returned to their Poke Balls in red flashes. Dawn hurried out the door, figuring she'd be the last one to arrive.

She wasn't. When she got at the exit, the boys were standing over their bikes. Damien was making awkward stabs at conversation to break the tension between Paul and Kenny – but there was no sign of Kayli. Pedaling a little further, Dawn scanned the boys anxiously. Paul and Kenny were refusing to look at each other, and were facing opposite directions. Damien was trying to figure out how to get both of them involved in a civilized conversation, and appeared immensely relieved to see Dawn approaching. "Hey, Dawn!" he greeted. "These two are stubborn."

"Damien, do you know where Kayli is?" Dawn cut to the chase. "Sorry," she added quickly in response to his downcast expression, "but we saw each other a couple of minutes ago…"

"I don't know. I have her number, though, she wanted me to pass it on." He handed her a crumpled napkin with some digits hastily scribbled on it. Dawn flipped her own phone, impatiently flicked the Pachirisu charm off the keypad, and dialed the number.

It rang twice. "Hello?" Kayli said, picking up. "Who is this? I'm kind of in a – "

"Kayli, it's Dawn," the Coordinator cut her off. "Where are you?!"

"I can't find something!" Kayli cried. "I'm really sorry, Dawn, I'll be there as soon as I find it!"

Dawn groaned impatiently. "Where's your –?"

"Ah, I found it! Sorry to interrupt, Dawn! I'm heading out right now – bye!" The phone beeped as Kayli hung up.

Dawn shook her head and closed the phone. Damien was still trying to get Kenny to speak civilly and Paul to speak at all. Dawn sighed. Were she and Damien the only sane ones left? She walked her bike over to the group. Damien turned, relieved to have someone else there. "So, what's up?" he asked. "Where is she?"

"She couldn't find something," Dawn answered, rolling her eyes. "I don't think she's travelled before; she sounded just like I did on my first day." She turned to Kenny, who, upon closer inspection, was really the only one facing the opposite way. (Paul just didn't care, in all likelihood.) "And will you quit making things awkward, Kenny?!"

"Why… what are you talking about?" Kenny asked, turning to her. Dawn gritted her teeth at his wide eyes.

"Quit trying to face the opposite way as Paul!" Dawn snapped, frustrated. "And don't say you aren't," she added as his mouth opened.

Kenny closed his mouth and glanced away again, and silence fell in the group. Damien sighed internally. Lovely grouping. Two people who hated each other (or at least one who hated the other and one who bother caring), ex's who had broken up in the worst way possible, and of _course_ the ex-girlfriend was best friends with the guy who hated the ex-boyfriend, the ex-girlfriend's biggest fan, and little old him, stuck dab in the middle. Talk about a love-hate circle. He wondered if there was a way to bail out of it.

He looked up to watch people pass by and to see if he could spot Kayli. Almost instantly, he saw her biking up to the group. Her bicycle had a basket, and a Teddiursa sat in it, sucking on its claws contentedly. He was pleasantly surprised to see that she was travelling fairly light. Kayli jumped off her bike and walked it over to the group. "Sorry," she apologized, "but I never go anywhere far without my lucky pipe." She held up the small instrument. It looked woodsy.

"No worries!" Damien responded with forced cheer. He would have asked her more about the pipe, but Dawn mounted her bike then.

"Let's go," she said, and they all did.

* * *

"When are we going to stop?" Kayli asked. It was the first thing any of them had said to each other for the last four hours.

"When we absolutely have to," Dawn answered her. "We've got to cover as much ground as we can in the time we have just in case something happens to slow us down later."

"It's getting dark, though."

"Are you afraid of the dark?" Kenny asked, turning to her and raising an eyebrow.

"No," Kayli answered defiantly. "But it's sort of dangerous to travel at night, and in any case, doesn't Sangdem have a curfew once the sun sets?"

Paul swore. "I forgot about that."

"Hurry!" Dawn cried. They were already in Sangdem, but perhaps if they pedaled fast enough…

"_Attention residents and visitors of Sangdem Town_," a large speaker buzzed. "_At this time, the curfew is in effect and no one under 20 is to leave the town. Thank you._" It crackled off.

The group braked, and Kenny and Paul simultaneously swore. Dawn rubbed the bridge of her nose.

"Should we try to leave anyway?" Damien asked, looking to Dawn.

"That would be more trouble than it's worth," Dawn answered, sighing. "Let's try to find a place to stay for the night." She turned around and pedaled towards the Center they had just passed.

Unfortunately…

"You only have one room?!" Kayli cried. Nurse Joy cringed.

"I'm sorry, but we only have one room," she repeated calmly. "Now there are four beds in the room, so one of you can sleep on the couch, but…"

"Thank you, Nurse Joy," Dawn answered, slapping her hand over Kayli's mouth before she could protest again. Nurse Joy smiled and handed Damien the key to the room. The five walked off towards the elevator, Dawn lowering her hand from Kayli's mouth.

Nurse Joy sweat-dropped. Odd group.

Dawn tapped her foot impatiently waiting for the elevator to come down. Kayli bit her lip. "Kayli, cut it out," Dawn muttered to her. "What about this is bugging you, anyway? A little cramped, but if that's the worse, we're not doing bad."

"We have to share a room with a bunch of boys!" Kayli whispered back. "Ew!"

"It's not that big of a deal," Dawn sighed. "The first two years I was travelling, I was with two guys the whole time and we always got the same room. It doesn't matter."

"But you were like, 11 then."

Dawn shook her head. The elevator opened at that moment, and they all walked in. Damien handed the key to Dawn. "Thanks," she said to him.

"No problem," he said. "So who gets the couch?"

"How comfortable is it?" Kenny asked, arms crossed.

"I can take it," Kayli offered.

"You don't have to, Kayli," Damien said as the elevator doors opened. They stepped out onto their floor. "I think the girls should get the beds, for sure."

"That's chivalrous," Dawn commented, smiling. Dawn could remember when Damien was the boy screaming about cooties still. He was a year younger than Dawn, so when she came back to Twinleaf after her first year travelling, she was surprised by how much he'd changed.

Damien shrugged and grinned cheekily. "I don't mind taking it."

Dawn pursed her lips. She was imagining Kenny and Paul using the same bunks. That would probably, almost certainly, not end well. "Maybe not."

They walked down the hallway, and Dawn found the room and twisted the key in the door. It was a traditional setup – two sets of bunks and a couch. This room had a window view too.

"Why shouldn't Damien?" Kenny asked. "I mean, if he doesn't mind, why not?"

Dawn opened her mouth and closed it. How was she going to explain she just didn't want her best friend to kill her ex-boyfriend in the middle of the night? She didn't want to give him ideas…

Paul tossed his bag on the couch. That ended the discussion.

"So, what do we want to do, now that we're stuck here?" Damien asked. "I mean, we don't really need to work out more of a plan, do we?"

"No, I guess not," Dawn sighed. "Was there something you wanted to do?"

"Damien, seriously?" Kenny commented incredulously. "Sinnoh may be destroyed within a few days, and you're…?"

"…not able to do anything about it at the moment?" Damien filled in. "I mean, if we can't do anything, we might as well have some fun, right? I don't really want to sit in here and panic, anyway."

"I'm with Damien," Kayli said.

Dawn shook her head and swung her bag up on a top bunk. "What'd you have in mind, Damien? I don't mind doing something."

Damien thought about it. "Kareoke?"

* * *

**I needed to give our entourage a little chill time, and I really want them to talk more anyway. :)**

**Kenny: DAWN, SAY SOMETHING TO PROVE MY POINT!!!**

**Dawn: You're hurting my ears! -covers them-**

**Paul: Kenny, SHUT UP. Seriously.**

**Damien: Wow! Paul said shut up!**

**Kayli: Shock!**

**Me: Good grief. Anyway, please review!**


	6. Karaoke detour

**Good grief, I am just on a _roll_ with these! I think this is my favorite story right now. I like it mostly because I know what events I want to happen and I'm willing to just string it along the rest of the way... and this is my type of genre too!**

**Kenny: I don't know how much your readers like it. Only 15 reviews.**

**Me: Hush. I'm writing this for my own enjoyment. And I'm not really leaving a lot of time between chapters, right?**

**Kenny: I guess. I don't like this.**

**Me: That's only because you aren't in Dream Academy to object.**

**Kenny: ...**

**Damien: I am, though! But you called me Barry! What's up with that, huh?**

**Dawn: Aren't they both your names?**

**Damien: But she should pick one!**

**Paul: ...**

**Kayli: Um... ikarishipping900 doesn't own Pokemon! Or I'd be in it!**

**Me: Um...**

**Kayli: Right?!**

**Me: Eh... on with the story!**

**Kayli: Hey!**

* * *

Looking back, Dawn realized Sangdem was probably one of the few places in existence with a dry karaoke spot. She had no idea on two of her party members' opinions on alcohol, but Kenny, Damien, and she were all against it, and she was the strongest opinion of the three on it. So instead, everyone was drinking juice and soda. It was a nice little place – sort of a club atmosphere without the beverages. Loud music and dancing, and a bunch of off-key singing. Dawn couldn't place what Damien was singing at the moment, and frankly she didn't want to know.

She wondered why she felt like she was the chaperone of the group. She hated the role.

Kenny was sitting next to her, in part sharing her feelings, and in part giving a certain purple-haired teen dirty glares, making it perfectly clear he was not welcome to occupy the other seat next to Dawn. Paul was doing his best to totally ignore him, but that was hard with his company.

Dawn was also losing track of her thoughts in about the same direction. Why was Paul supposed to be in this group? In all honesty, he was the main source of the tensions in the group. Yes, Kayli still rubbed on her, but Dawn could get used to anyone if she made an effort…

Anyone…

And without warning, she darted back five years.

_"Dawn, what is your deal?" Paul finally demanded, without turning to face her. "Why can't you leave me ALONE?"_

_Dawn frowned. "You're always alone. Nobody wants to be alone twenty-four seven."_

_"If I want your company, I will ASK for it." He clenched his fists._

_She crossed her arms. "No, you won't. You're scared of looking weak in front of anyone, even an annoying girl who's too naïve to want to betray anyone. That's why you keep up the façade, isn't it?"_

_Paul exhaled deeply and was silent for a minute. "Why do you even bother?" he finally asked. "Why don't I push you away like everyone else?" He turned around, his dark eyes impossible to read. "What makes you think I'm worth it?"_

_Dawn tilted her chin up and furrowed her brow, considering her answer. "Everyone is worth something. Especially the people who think they aren't." She stopped there. Her next thoughts were too dangerous to voice out loud… she didn't want rejection. At least, not yet, when she wasn't certain of their friendship._

_Paul tilted his head, considering her. "'When two people meet, something is born…'" he murmured. She suddenly blushed. Why did that make her blush anyway? What did _he _mean by it? He smirked. "I'll see you later, Dawn." He waved and walked off again._

_And she realized he hadn't called her "troublesome girl." She had been Dawn. If only in that moment._

_And she smiled._

And Dawn gritted her teeth in frustration at this memory. Kenny frowned. Damien ran up at that moment. "Hey, Dawn!" he said. "Didn't you say you really liked this song? You should totally sing it!"

"Sure," she said without even glancing at the album cover and walked off. Kenny looked after her, frowning still, and then walked over to the seat next to Paul and sat down.

Paul sighed. "Make up your mind," he said. "Give me dirty glares or sit next to me, but for the love of everything good, don't do _both._"

Kenny glared anyway. "You're not lord of the manor," he snapped back. "And you're the one who's making the problems anyway."

"I haven't been glaring at anyone, actually. I don't remember getting in a fight."

Kenny clenched his fists. "I meant five years ago." Paul glanced down quickly. Kenny narrowed his eyes. "Did you really think if you ignored it, it would go away? She's obviously not happy you're here."

"I would be shocked if she was." Paul looked back up. "I'm not thinking about trying to get back with her, after what happened."

"What is your problem?!" Kenny slammed the table between them. Paul's cup spilled and fizzed, but Paul was narrowing his eyes at Kenny. "What kind of a guy ends it the way you did, anyway?! She deserves better than that, and you know it!"

"It wasn't exactly my choice," Paul snapped. He locked his jaw. "I'm going to get soda, and you stay away from me." He picked up his fallen cup and started to walk off. Kenny wasn't letting it go that easily.

"What do you mean, it wasn't your choice?!" he yelled. "She needed you!"

Paul winced, as though Kenny had physically cut him. Kenny pressed his advantage. "She had just lost her mom! Whatever you had pressing you, couldn't you have at least been there for her for a few days more?! And instead, you decided it was a good time to get back to whatever pressing business you had, just dump some salt on her wound?! Do you know how torn up she was when she realized you were never calling her back?!"

Paul was silent for a moment. "You do." He walked off.

Kenny furrowed his brow in anger and confusion. What in the world?! What was this guy's _problem?_ And what did that last comment mean anyway? He went in the bathroom. He needed to think.

Paul walked past the bar area and leaned against an isolated wall, holding back a flood of emotions. Anger. Frustration.

But mostly pain. Pain at her expression when she'd first seen him come back. Pain at Kenny's anger source. Pain at knowing he earned every word Kenny said and didn't say…

_"Paul, where did you learn to take care of Pokémon?" Dawn asked. "Whoever taught you did a horrible job."_

_Paul sighed. She never let this issue drop. "My dad."_

_Dawn looked surprised. Had he never mentioned his dad? Did she have bad relations with her dad? Suddenly Paul itched to know everything behind that surprise. He looked back at Torterra, reminding himself to bite his tongue, not to interrogate, they were friends, just friends… don't push it… "Reggie didn't teach you anything?"_

_Paul considered what he could say. Weighing the options, he decided he didn't want to freak her out with his family. It may be unavoidable later, but… "No."_

_Dawn's mouth twitched downward. Paul was a little annoyed. She kept mentioning Reggie, did you and Reggie train together, is Reggie a good cook, anything that came to mind, it seemed… was she being his "friend" to learn more about Reggie? He wanted to laugh. Definitely the wrong source for that._

_"Hey, Paul," she said. He nodded, acknowledging he heard her. "Can we battle some day?"_

_"Huh?" He turned around to look at her. She seemed perfectly serious. "You're serious?"_

_"Why not? Don't want to 'waste your time' battling me?" She was repeating what he'd said to that idiot she travelled with several times in a row._

_He laughed. "I don't mind. I just don't think you'd stand a chance." He almost immediately regretted his first sentence. Ash was almost certainly a more skilled Trainer, what other way was there to take that he didn't mind spending time with her. He fought to keep his emotions from rushing to his face. Please don't think too much on that…_

_She grinned cheekily. It was hard to tell if she'd thought about it. "We'll see."_

_He had to admit, her smile always caught him off guard… and she smiled at the smallest things…_

Pain from knowing she deserved so much better.

"Dawn, you sounded great! You should keep singing!" Damien called after her.

"Kayli wanted a turn anyway," Dawn answered. Kayli looked bewildered at this. If Dawn had to guess, she was thinking, I did? Dawn smiled. "I don't think I like singing very much anyway."

"I didn't want a turn," Kayli said, frowning.

Dawn winked at Damien, and he got the message. "Sure you did!" Damien said. "Here, look at the different songs they have! I'll sing again while you do!"

Kayli laughed. Dawn sat back at the bar area and got another orange juice. The guy working the counter handed it to her, but as she pulled her purse out, he reached over and pushed her hand back. "The guy in beret over there paid for whatever you got next," he explained. "He said to consider it a compliment for your singing."

Dawn's eyes widened in surprise and she turned her head to look where the bartender was pointing. There was a guy with dark blue hair, grey eyes, and a red beret sitting there sipping on a brown soda. He caught her eye and waved. Dawn blushed and waved back shyly. She wasn't usually shy, but people didn't usually pay for her drinks either. The guy picked up his drink, walked over, and took the seat next to her. "Nice to meet you," he said. "I'm Lucas."

"Dawn," she said, shaking his hand.

He raised an eyebrow. "The Coordinator?"

"Oh, please don't be a fan," she muttered.

He laughed. "Not in the sense you're afraid of," he answered back easily. "My sister watches you every time you're on television, but she follows everyone. I really like your work, though."

She smiled. "Thanks. Are you from here?"

He sighed and shook his head. "You know, before you went off travelling and getting famous and everything, we used to go to the same school. Do you remember fourth grade, the kid who sat a couple of seats back from you, the one with all the drawings you liked?"

She frowned. Fourth grade was so far back. She had to think about it for a moment… "Oh! You're the artsy guy!" She blushed as soon as she said it in embarrassment, but he laughed.

"Yeah!" Lucas grinned. "I'm also a Trainer now, but I'm not too competitive. How've things been?"

And Dawn's famous mouth was finally flowing naturally, the way it had before the dream started and Paul coming back and everything.

Kenny came out of the bathroom and was surprised to see Dawn talking back and forth with a guy he didn't recognize. He was laughing a lot at whatever she was saying, and they were just going back and forth… well, it was nice to see her smiling again. He glanced around to see if Paul was anywhere near. He didn't see him anywhere. He snorted. Good riddance.

He glanced at the time. It was getting pretty late. Kayli and Damien were doing a duet on stage, so he worked his way towards the stage to grab them as soon as the song ended. He had to wait a minute at the front of the crowd, but not that long. As soon as the music ended, he walked up on the stage and grabbed Damien's shoulder. "We gotta go," he said to him.

"Kenny, you're such a party pooper!" Damien cried, sticking his tongue out. "Do we really?"

"Yeah, Kenny, I don't wanna go yet!" Kayli said, grinning in a silly way.

Kenny rolled his eyes. "We're gonna need to sleep if we're going anywhere tomorrow. Come on."

Damien rolled his eyes even more dramatically and blew kisses at the audience. Kayli laughed. "Until next time, guys!" The crowd half-cheered and half-laughed. Kenny rolled his eyes and walked off, assuming Damien and Kayli were following him, and looked back at the bar area to tell Dawn they needed to –

He suddenly noticed Dawn and the guy with the beret were gone. Just gone.

His stomach tightened instantly. Where had Dawn gone?

* * *

**Haha, cliffhanger! I'm sorry, I couldn't help it... I haven't decided what to do with this line, anyway. :) By the way, since Lucas basically has no personality in the game, I'm just molding him to fit my motives.**

**Lucas: What would that be...?**

**Me: We'll see!**

**Dawn: Should I be worried about vanishing with him?**

**Me: Probably.**

**Paul: -darkens expression-**

**Me: And that's why! Hee hee!**

**Damien: Huh?**

**Kayli: Damien has got to be the clueless member... but not totally, right?**

**Damien: Nope. But life's easier clueless.**

**Kenny: Geez. REVIEW PLEASE! I need to find Dawn...**


End file.
